Locals Seek a History Lesson from
a Civil War Battle
By John A. Miller
On
April 1st and 2nd, the One Mountain Foundation
along with Mike Vallone of the Gettysburg National Park Tour Guides
held a 90 minute walking tour of the battle site of Monterey. This
event was part of the Gettysburg Civil War Discovery Weekend. About
200 visitors came out and toured the Monterey battle site and took in
a history lesson that most people who live in the area are unfamiliar
with.
The tour started
at the Hawley Memorial Church where Mr. Vallone made his opening
statements about the importance of the Monterey area during the 1863
Gettysburg Campaign. Mr. Vallone stated “The Gettysburg Campaign
should be considered the Pennsylvania Campaign because of the hundreds
of thousands of lives that were affected by the Civil War.”
The walking tour
took history seekers to the site of the Monterey House, where Civil
War enthusiasts were educated about a H.C. Burhman, a local guide that
helped General Kilpatrick find his way through the Monterey area. This
was also the area where much hand to hand combat took place and was
near the spot that General Kilpatrick deployed his artillery. The walk
concluded at the Lions Club Park, the site where General Custer
engaged Confederate forces that were guarding the road that the
Confederate wagon train was traveling as it made its way to Waynesboro
before turning westward to Williamsport.
The April Monterey
Walking Tour was in preparation to the July 3rd Walking
Tour that will focus on a three hour lecture about the battle of
Monterey. This tour will be filmed and aired on PNC a Pennsylvania
cable television network. A Civil War Living History encampment is
planned for July 1-3 at the Lions Club Park, where living historians
will be on hand to talk about Civil War life.
